Magic Reborn
by LadyLilitu
Summary: Magic has disappeared from the land of Ilirran which is still recovering from a war more than 100 years passed. With the arrival of a strange ship those with the craft once again come the aid of the land they abandoned so long ago. RxS AxR CxL
1. Prologue

I do not own the game Kingdom Hearts or its characters.

Prologue

* * *

_864 year of the Loryoso family _

_Autumn 32 Day_

_A time of great trial and hardship is upon us. Fire and chaos dance across the countryside as man and beast run rampant and unhindered through the debris of tragedy and the ruin of fallen cities once bathed in beauty. All hope has seeped from the veins of the living like water seeps from a crack in a pail. Mankind has lost the will to fight against the foe that threatens us from every niche and crevice. Most shy away from the darker corners and abandoned alleyways; many even fear their own shadows. It is wise of them._

_Magic has disappeared from the lands. Those who wielded the craft and have all turned their back on our society and, with their great knowledge and wisdom, fled. With their passing came fewer and fewer of those born to the craft and not a soul to teach those that remained. None lived passed their tenth year._

_It wasn't just the humans that wielded the power of the craft that disappeared, but all those that were born of magic: the wisps and the nymphs, the dragons and the fire birds. Every creature of land, sky and water, every plant and every insect; vanished. The blow that hit us the hardest was the day the wizards walked away from our lands, their eyes downcast and heads turned away in shame and pity._

_Even now, five years later, they are fading into nothing more than a legend._

_It was our own undoing. All the pretentious rulers and delegates of the kingdoms in our loose confederation were the reason the wizards and sorceresses disappeared. They all played their part, every King, Queen, Duke, Marquis, and Count, every royal advisor, every High Councilor. They all have the shame of driving our strongest allies away forever stamped onto their conscience. Even I share some of that burden._

_It was our inability to listen to their wisdom and our blindness to see reason that has put us in such a state. They extended their hands to us and we all but slapped them away. We saw them and their powers as tools to be owned and utilized as we saw fit. We used them as social status markers. Those with the more powerful in the craft were of higher standing. We used them as bargaining chips to form alliances and make trades. We used them as military and personal dogs to dispose of threats, real or imagined. We used them as assassins, they fell our enemies in the silence of night; most shamefully though, we used them as pawns._

_One of the craft could spend decades in the halls of their keeps just learning the bare basics of their powers. They could spend years more afterwards pouring over ancient and valuable tomes, rare and exotic scrolls, gaining knowledge. Then they would spend even more years under the servitude of their teachers, gaining wisdom as the decades wore on. A wizard or sorceress of any value was more than 100 years old before he left the sanctuary of his keep._

_In the end though, we mistreated those we needed most, and in our darkest hour they abandoned us. We are left now to wallow in the misery of our mistakes; left to fight a war against creatures that threaten the very existence of mankind._

_High Councilor Rirely Desos_

The book closed with a thud that sent dust scattering in every direction. Old, bony fingers that were calloused from writing gingerly ran across the cover of the book with an affection rarely seen in these sad times. Abruptly they reached down and snatched the spine in a firm grasp and lifted it from its resting spot upon the age worn oak table. It was quickly shoved into a nook amidst an array of other old and crumbling volumes.

From the chair he had been sitting in High Councilor Desos rose, both his bones and the chair creaking in protest at the action. He took a few steps forward on wobbly legs, a hand clutching the table for support before gaining more confidence and making his way across the room to a large plush bed. The soft feather bed gave way easily under his frail form and conformed around him to comfort his aching body. He was getting too old to be moving about; his time would be coming to claim him soon.

"Have you finished Milord?" A questioning voice called from just outside the slightly open doorway across the room.

"Yes, yes Nerius, you may enter." Desos' voice was cracked and strained, giving way to the old age that had been slowly taking over him the past few years.

A man no more than 25 in age stepped through the doorway adorned from head to toe in fancy dress. The deep shades of red he wore made the green of his eyes seem to pop out and accented his pale features. He was easy upon the eyes in terms of looks but he wasn't the kind of person that stood out overly much as a real beauty. Dark, deep brown hair was cropped close to his head and splayed out at odd angles giving him a bit of an awkward look.

"It is completed then Milord?" Nerius asked with questioning eyes.

Desos just gave a nonchalant wave of the hand and the subject was dismissed. Silence reigned over the room for a long time, neither speaking nor moving both lost in deep thought. Desos was the one the break the silence.

"Nerius, do you have hope?"

Green eyes regarded him carefully, a bit confused by what the High Councilor could mean. He obviously had a look of puzzlement on his face for Desos continued before he could answer.

"Do you believe that we have a chance to win this war, even without the aid of magic?"

Nerius looked down and silence once again overtook the room. Desos took this as his answer and looked to the window just beyond the foot of the bed he sat on. The bright sun outside and the clear blue skies didn't seem to match the mood of the world. They were taking heavy damage from the war raging just beyond the walls he slept so safe in. People were dying by the hundreds and there was little they could do to stop the seemingly endless army of their foes.

"I believe," Nerius began, looking up and the High Councilor with determined eyes, "I believe that we can. It may take us years, and countless deaths, but I believe that if we do not stop trying we will one day learn the weakness of our foe and push them back into the hole they crawled out from."

Desos didn't even bother to look back to his companion; he just kept his eyes to the window and watched the birds in flight, free from the terrors that gripped mankind.

"Such optimism, I envy you my boy. I'm afraid that I will not live to see that end. It is time for me to rest now, please see yourself out."

Nerius bowed deeply before backing up to the door. His handed landed on the door handle and, before he shut it he looked back at his Lord settling himself into bed.

"Rest well High Councilor, I shall wake you for supper."

With that Nerius closed the door, shutting Desos into his room and leaving him to his thoughts.

High Councilor Rirely Desos never awoke.

* * *

Alright, not so great, but it's just a prologue, setting up for the basis of the story. Without it things would quite make sense and I would have to spend time explaining it in later chapters where I could otherwise be writing of far more interesting things.

You'll start to see the KH characters next chapter, no worries. Next installment is insanely long as well. I already have it finished.


	2. The Sighting

I do not own any of the Kingdom Hearts games or characters.

Chapter One - The Sighting

* * *

Blue eyes watched as the waves softly lapped at the sand along the shoreline. A pale aquamarine color tinted the body of water just beyond, giving everything below the abnormally calm ocean a blue-green cast. It didn't hinder the crystal clear visibility of the water but it did make discerning specific shades of colors a bit difficult.

Not that Sora was very interested in trying to name every hue that he spied below the surface. It was just an idle observation he made in his time of quiet contemplation. It was really relevant to what he was supposed to be doing at the moment, but it did keep his mind from the rather unsavory task at hand. He enjoyed looking at the ocean, but he wasn't too eager of entering its warm wet embrace.

From his vantage point on the rock outcropping 40 feet above the beach he could see every shadow of the ocean. He could tell where the drop offs were, where there were dangerous undertows or currents. He could see where the sharks lurked in search of prey, and, once or twice, he thought he even spied a few large serpents picking their way along the sea floor stealthily. In the shallows a group of small mellow rays lazily drifted in hunt of good spot to bury themselves in the sand. A few meters down the beach a group of porpoises played nonchalantly with one another. It was a beautiful picture of serenity yet of untold danger.

He was ordered to enter those uncertain waters and retrieve a precious stone that he had accidentally lost in an exercise a few days back. He had failed to inform his teacher of the mishap and the man was furious when he had learned of the disappearance of one of his prized personal effects; especially since Sora was not technically ever granted permission to have possession of said object. When Sora had explained what had happened to the small red stone the older man had thrown a fit and order him to go in search of it in the blue depths. He was under explicit orders to not return to the keep until he had regained it and he was to think of this as a lesson in responsibility.

That didn't mean he had to like his task.

With a dejected sigh the boy stood and brushed the back of his pants free of dirt and debris. He only had a little under a dozen hours before night would be in full swing to complete his objective this day. If he didn't he was to spend the night on the beach and continue the search again tomorrow. That just didn't sit well with the young man. The nights out here were ever more dangerous than the creatures that lurked in the deeper blue depths of the sea. He much preferred facing them than the horrors that crept out from the shadows of night.

It only took a few minutes to back-track down the trail he had climbed to his vantage point and veer off on a new one towards the white sand beach. To Sora it seemed to take an eternity, like he was walking to his own hanging. He kept his head down the entire time, watching his feet carefully pick their way down the well-worn dirt trail. Eventually the dark earth gave way to the soft crushed rock causing his feet to slip a little with each step. Not enough to make him fall but enough to slow his pace a bit and make him dig his feet a little more firmly into the ground.

The brightness of the midafternoon soon reflecting off the small particles of the white sand caused him to squint his eyes and bring a hand up to shield his face. The warmth of the glowing orb hanging in the sky radiated off the sand sending warm thermals up into the air around him warming him considerably. He hadn't realized he was chilled at all until this moment.

With a resolute look in his eye the chocolate haired boy stopped a few yards from the rolling waves and began to unbuckle the worn leather belt from around his waist. If he was going to do this he wasn't about to do it fully clothed, that would just be suicide. He wasn't a very strong swimmer and the clothing would only weigh him down should trouble arise. After removing the restricting belt he pulled his loose fitting white shirt free from his pants and began to unbutton it, his eyes never leaving the watery abyss.

The next thing he lost was his boots. He had always had trouble unlacing them but the soft leather they were constructed of made it more comfortable to walk in. He seemed to be doing that more and more often since he had become an apprentice to his current teacher. The man just loved to send him off on pointless and tedious quests. Hunts for the most random and seemingly disassociated items took up a vast majority of his time, but when he finally did return with his treasures in hand his master would grab them up and spend hours looking them over and carefully categorizing them on his vast shelves.

Finally slipping the adornments from his feet he reached down absentmindedly to the knife that was strapped securely around his upper thigh. It would be his only source of protection in the waters ahead.

Sora gave himself a small mental pep-talk before resolutely wading into the waters. They were warmer than he expected them to be in the cool autumn air. Then again, he did live in a pretty tropical area so the waters never truly got chilled. The smell of the salt assaulted his senses causing him to sniff in dismay but he didn't stop dredging forward. He had a goal to accomplish: find a tiny stone in a vast expanse of open water all the while avoiding predators that would like to have him for a late afternoon snack.

He could pinpoint the exact location he had been training at but that didn't mean the stone would be anywhere near that area. The seas have a funny way of shifting things around, for all he knew his target could be miles in either direction. Still, he figured where the object had disappeared at would be a good place to begin his search and he would then begin making wider and wider circles out from that point. It might take him a few days… weeks, but he would get the job done eventually.

He stopped wading out when the water was precisely an inch above his hipbones and looked down. This was the spot he had stood nearly a week ago during his exercise. The stone had been firmly planted in his left pocket before the stupid porpoise had bumped into him from behind and sent him sprawling causing the stone to work lose and disappear. He was just glad it wasn't a shark, or worse. At the time he had been so terrified he had hauled himself up as fast as he could and ran for his dear life to the shoreline. It wasn't until he had reached safety that he had looked back and saw the marine mammals jumping about where he had been standing. It wasn't until he got home that evening that he discovered the stone had been missing.

Turning in a small circle he surveyed the sea bed beneath his feet, stirring up a little silt as he did so; nothing at all was revealed. So began his long and dizzying search for the stone that had caused him so much grief. He wasn't even exactly sure what the stone really did. All Sora knew was that it was valuable, and it was alluring. It was kind of a flat oval shape, surface polished smooth from either year of wear or by a purposeful hand. It was a deep crimson in color and seemed to have no depth, like no matter how long he looked at it his eyes could just keep traveling farther and farther into it, like it had no core.

It had fascinated him so much that, one day while his master was busy elsewhere, he had pocketed the stone to give it a closer examination. It had been tucked neatly into a back corner of a long forgotten shelf to be covered with years of dust. He didn't think he teacher had ever even looked at it since he had set it in its resting spot. Sora figured if it was so neglected in the farthest reaches of the study it probably wasn't of any interest to his teacher. He didn't think his borrowing it for a little while to study it would set his master off the way it had.

His master had found it missing today. The older man had spun around, his long grey beard twirling around him, and fixed his sharp blue eyes on Sora, a disapproving scowl setting itself on his face. He had walked over and spun Sora's chair to face him causing the brunette boy to make a black line across the parchment he was writing on with his pen. The old man had bent over until he was eye level with Sora and simply stared at him before launching into a million questions.

Sore hadn't even bothered to hide the truth from his teacher, instead dove right in to the tale of his demise.

So here he ended up.

The sun was beginning to set on the western horizon and he had yet to find the stone. He was starting to get frantic now; his circles couldn't get much wider without throwing him over the steep drop off beyond the sand bars. If the stone had drifted there he would never find it anyway. He could not hold his breath long enough to reach the bottom of the sharp cliff and he was too terrified of what he might find in its depths to try. Even in the crystal blue water you couldn't see to the bottom of the canyon.

He had to give up his search for the night. If he didn't start to make a fire soon he wouldn't have one by the time the sun fully set and that would certainly spell death for him. There were creatures that lurked in the darkness, creatures that could kill him without him ever knowing of their approach, creatures that could devour his very soul. He didn't like the prospect of staying out here during the night but he had little choice. He knew if he returned to the keep he would either be turned away at the gates or instantly sent straight back out once his master located him without the stone.

So Sora set to the tiresome task of searching for firewood. He wasn't too worried about digging a pit to put the wood in or lining it with stones to contain it seeing as he was sitting on a beach more than a 100 yards from the tree line.

As he rounded the corner that lead him to the rock outcropping he usually spent his free time at, something caught his eye that made him halt, half bent over and reaching for another stick. It was a sight he had never seen in this area. It was a ship.

Her sails looked gray against the falling sun and stood out in stark relief against their backdrop. He had seen ships before, but never this far from the main ports. The nearest port was in Tiair and that was more than a week's ride to the south. There were no ports for a ship to dock at to the south. A few small fishing vessels meant to hold two people and a day's catch but nothing the size of the one that was heading straight for the beach he had just been at.

This ship looked nothing like the ones he was use to seeing at the Tiair docks, those ships were narrow and road low on the water weighed heavy with goods of trade. The sails of the ships at the docks were designed for speed, so the captain could make a timely delivery before his wares lost value or spoiled. The approaching ship had much wider bulky sails that looked more meant for balance than anything. This ship was also very wide and rode high on the water. It was definitely made for the open ocean, unlike the ones that sailed close to the shoreline.

Judging the distance and the direction of the wind Sora calculated that the ship would make land just as night fell. He didn't know if they would be fools enough to try to seek refuge among the sands for the night or stay in relative safety on board. Either way, he knew that noone else would know of their approaching and the keep needed to be warned. This wasn't an ordinary ship, they needed to be prepared if they were threatened.

Dropping the sticks he had collected Sora shot off down the well-worn and well-known trail towards the keep as fast as his scrawny legs could carry him. He had made his decision and now he needed to reach the safety of his home before darkness consumed the land completely; before the shadows came out to play. Sharp twigs and sticks tore at his exposed flesh but he paid no mind to the surface wounds, they would heal in no time.

He broke out of the trees at the base of the keep wall just as the last rays of sunlight were winking out of existence and banged as loud as he could on the barred doors at the entrance. Surely the guards would be able to hear all the commotion he was making and at least look over the edge of the wall at him. Sure enough a small head poked over the top and blinked down at him curiously before shaking side to side.

"Sorry kid, I'm under strict orders not to let you back into the keep tonight unless you show me some red stone. Do you have it?" Sora knew the voice well, it was one of the daily guards he had often stopped and conversed with on his way out to his rocky cliff where he sat and thought. Tasin was his name.

"No, I don't, but the sun is about to set and I have urgent news I have to relay." He knew his voice sounded desperate, and he was. He only had minutes before they would start coming.

"Give me the message and I'll relay it to whoever it needs to go to."

Sora shook his head sending chocolate spikes flying. "Tasin, please, it's an emergency. You wouldn't leave me out here to be eaten, would you?" Sora tossed a pleading expression up at the man who he knew couldn't see him in the darkness. With a resolved sigh the man disappeared from sight. A small door to the right side of the main entrance swung open and Sora dashed for it, slamming it closed behind him.

"Now, what's this dire news kid?" The torches to either side gave the man's normally blond hair an orange cast as he ran a hand through his wavy locks.

"There is a ship heading for the beach." Sora's words came out in an excited rush; Tasin had to take a moment for them to register completely in his mind. He shot the shorter brunette and skeptical and slightly disbelieving look.

"So what? They probably just want to use the cove for shelter for the night."

Sora shook his head frantically. "Think Tasin, where would they be coming from? This is a big ship and we both know they can't be coming from the North, or heading towards the North seeing as there is no place for them there. They are coming straight out of the west."

Tasin just shook his head and muttered something unintelligible under his breath before indicating his head towards the keep.

"Whatever kid, just go relay your story to whomever it is you feel needs to hear it. Just remember, if I get in trouble I'm taking you down with me."

Sora grinned and nodded at the man before dashing up the dirt road towards the giant shadow that was the keep. He only slowed when he reached the softly illuminated town that had sprung up at the base of the keep. The streets were nearly deserted now that the sun had set, everyone was settling down inside their homes for the night, most likely all curled around a warm fire relaxing or telling of interesting events of the day. The only places that had any activity to them were the taverns that were dotted here and there along the main road.

The place had cropped up originally as a trading post where people would come to sell their wares and goods to the inhabitants of the keep. Eventually people had just taken up residence here; first starting with a couple smithies, a few bakeries, maybe a tailor. Now it had grown into a thriving town that was a well equipped with shops of every kind. Major traders made yearly stops here to sell their goods to other merchants or even straight to the keep. It wasn't very large, only a few hundred people, but it was home.

As he passed the last shop the massive keep loomed up from the darkness. The structure reminded Sora of a castle. It was a solid stone building that looked ancient in its design but showed no signs of weather or wear. With six different levels to it and more than a mile in width and depth it was a spectacular sight to behold. The stone that made the entirety of it was a pale grey in color, almost white and gave it a luminescent appearance even in the dark.

He passed unhindered through the large stone archway that lead up the steps to the building. The guards on either side of the arch probably figured that since he had made it through the surrounding wall he had completed the task he had been sent out to do. Sora took the steps two at a time and burst through the wooden door at the top. He navigated his way easily through the twisted maze of hallways and rooms, some occupied and some empty. He didn't stop the trade pleasantries with anyone around him even as they called out his name in greeting as he whipped past.

Finally, three floors and sixteen turns later he reached his destination and hesitantly brought his hand up to knock on the door. Before his loosely closed fist could make contact the door swung open before him revealing the well-lit room beyond. A large table stood a dozen and a half feet in front of him, littered with books and scrolls in various states of deterioration. There walls were lined with shelves each one packed full with musty books and moldy scrolls. Just beyond the table were more free-standing shelves on which various items were displayed and kept.

Seated in the chair closest to him sat an older man with dark grey hair that was pulled loosely back in a ribbon and fell down to his shoulders lightly brushing up against a dark green robe. The man didn't even bother to look up at Sora as he stepped through the door into his teacher's personal study and closed the door gently behind him.

"You have brought my stone back then I take it?" The man's voice was still deep and strong despite his obvious aging.

"I haven't found it of yet Master Rayeus, but, I bring you something of equal value." Sora cautiously stepped forward while wiping a stray spike of hair from his eyes.

"I sincerely doubt that you have found something of equal or greater value to that which you have so irresponsibly lost child." The old man draped an arm over the back of the wooden chair and half turned in his seat to face Sora, a deep frown set tightly on his features. The look caused Sora to falter a moment in his words before he shook the look off and continued on.

"I bring you news of a ship; a ship that is sailing at us straight from the west." Sora smirked.

* * *

Not really a cliffhanger but a good place to stop for the time being. Sorry for the lack of interesting events, I'm kind of setting up the plot at this point. The next chapter should be more interesting, promise. Feel free to leave your reviews. Comments, concerns, criticisms, complaints, and suggestions always welcome.


End file.
